By Tracy Zwick

Let’s Weekend! 

October 25 – 27, 2024

Riverside Park’s Inaugural Halloween Pup Parade, Saturday October 26th from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., beginning in Riverside Park at 116th Street and continuing to Ellington in the Park near 105th Street in Riverside Park; free

The Riverside Park Conservancy has launched an official Halloween Pup Parade and it kicks off this Saturday at noon! Dog-owners are encouraged to creatively costume their pooches and parade ‘em through the park. Prepare to see pumpkins, superheroes, hot dogs, lions, tacos, and more. Spooky styles, fierce looks, and overall adorableness await. All sizes and breeds are welcome. The parade will conclude at Ellington in the Park, where there’ll be a costume contest, music, special giveaways, and general Halloween merriment. Pre-register for free here. Group theme entries and wagons are encouraged. 

“Anora” at Film at Lincoln Center and AMC 84th Street, 2310 Broadway at 84th Street; use links for show times and ticket information

I caught “Anora,” the 2024 Cannes Palme d’Or winner, last weekend at Lincoln Center and was captivated. Think “Pretty Woman” with more dope smoking, a child punk for a prince, and an ending that you won’t find in fairy tales. Directed by Sean Baker (“The Florida Project”) and starring Mikey Madison (“Better Things”), it’s a fast-paced, two-hour journey from Manhattan to Brighton Beach, and from rags to riches, and back. Blending comedy, drama, and heartbreak, its soundtrack pulses and the performances dazzle. This one is destined for the Oscars.

Columbia v. Dartmouth Football: Wien Stadium at 505 West 218th Street; Saturday at 1:30 p.m., tickets are $20 to $30, Columbia students get in free

It’s always fun to watch Columbia’s teams in action, and this weekend is Homecoming so the energy level should be particularly high. The Lions are coming off a 23-17 win over Penn last Saturday, and they’re battling Big Green for first place in the Ivy League. Sophomore Lions quarterback Chase Goodwin posted career highs in yardage and passes last week and a pair of touchdowns. My kids used to love going to Columbia games, where they could see the student-athletes up close, be inches from the action, and also get to shake paws with Roar-EE, the lovable Lions mascot. 

The 25th New Yorker Festival: Friday to Sunday, Webster Hall, 125 East 11th Street, and SVA Theater, 333 West 23rd Street; tickets required

A cultural landmark in NYC for 25 years, TNY Festival has been on my calendar for months. It may not take place on the UWS, but it features several notable UWSers, including Daniel Zalewski, the magazine’s features director and executive editor. He’ll be in conversation with Pulitzer-Prize winning journalists Ben Taub and Sarah Stillman, National Magazine Award winner Rachel Aviv, and Pulitzer-Prize finalist Anand Gopal. If you haven’t read Aviv’s Strangers to Ourselves or Stillman’s trumpet-blast, “What Makes a Murder,” drop everything and do that this weekend. UWS icon and TNY’s Editor-in-Chief David Remnick will be talking with Liz Cheney on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and Rachel Maddow at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. See the complete lineup here. 

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